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ANZ has announced it has received Central Bank approval to open a representative office in Myanmar.

The major bank is the first Australian bank to receive a license from the Central Bank of Myanmar to operate, following the the lifting of international sanctions earlier this year.

ANZ CEO international and institutional banking, Alex Thursby, says the movement is an “important step” in the major bank’s super regional strategy.

“The representative office will strengthen our capability to connect customers across our international network and to access opportunities in Myanmar, as well as connecting our clients in Myanmar with new trade and investment opportunities.”

Thursby says the politically tenuous nation is rich in natural resources, and has significant economic growth potential over the medium term.

ANZ’s license is subject to final administrative approvals and the representative office is expected to open early in 2013.

Myanmar, a former communist country which spent nearly 50 years under military rule until elections in 2010, is the largest country in South-east Asia by land mass. The country's gross domestic product, currently US$43 billion, grew 5.3% in 2010, derived primarily from government investment and foreign investment into the oil and gas and agribusiness sectors.